How Raggedy Ann came to life
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Johnny Gruelle’s daughter Marcella brought him an old rag doll one day, and he drew a face on the worn fabric. 
Pulling a book off the shelf, he noticed two James Witcomb Riley poems, “The 
Raggedy Man” and “Little Orphan Annie.” “Why don’t we call her Raggedy Ann?,” he said. Or so the story goes. Gruelle’s family made the original doll by hand, and he gave Raggedy Ann life in 1915. She became a children’s book character in 1918, and Gruelle’s publisher P.F. Volland arranged to sell Raggedy Ann dolls as well. The tie-in between Gruelle’s Raggedy Ann Stories and the dolls proved a great marketing success. Gruelle averaged one new book a year for twenty years. Reprinted many times, the books renew the character for every generation. In the stories kindly Raggedy Ann comes to life when humans aren’t looking and embarks on adventures with her brave brother Andy. Marcella Gruelle tragically died at age 13, just as Raggedy Ann debuted. But she showed up as a tender remembrance in Marcella: A Raggedy Ann Story (1929).
My own mother handmade a Raggedy Ann and Andy for each of us 3 girls when we were very little. My big sister got the first Raggedies and ended up with the coveted red yarn hair. Mom made my Raggedies with yellow yarn hair to match my bright blond locks, and my little sisters had light brown yarn hair (that resembled her own as well)and it looks like that might have been closer to the original doll after all!
They each had a different darling mini calico print and , of course, the little red hearts sewn inside were better than candy (even though it made me long for candy hearts every time I peeked at it)!
My dad had a magical way of being puppeteer for our dolls while they were silent he would ask them adorable and hilarious questions sometimes sad like, “Were you left on the cold floor?” While making a sad gesture with Anne shaking her head appropriately, warming our hearts again and again.
We loved our Raggedies like they were real little babies. My sisters and I still joke about how we used to seriously discuss that if we ever had a house fire we would definitely be grabbing the Raggedies before escaping! Yes, we loved them that much!
Thank you for sharing the original Raggedy Ann info sis! http://www.artoftheletter.blogspot.com/
Added: July 20th, 2010 Tags: handmade rag doll, Raggedy Ann